During the past week ending November 19, Chinese hot rolled coil (HRC) export offers have moved upwards as the upward trend has gathered momentum in the local market in China. At present, export offers for boron-added SS400 HRC given by major Chinese mills are at $450-460/mt FOB, up $7.5/mt from November 12.
“South Korea and Japan-origin HRC are offered at $460/mt CFR Vietnam [for SAE1008],” a trader told SteelOrbis, while traders have been offering ex-China HRC to Vietnam at $460-465/mt CFR. The uptrend in the international HRC market has resulted in a narrowing of the gap between prices from China and from other sources, though ex-India HRC offers are still among the most competitive.
Chinese producers have managed to offer at higher prices in the international market, gaining support from their domestic market. HRC prices in the local Chinese market have moved up significantly as market players’ sentiments have improved amid China’s central bank’s measures to inject liquidity into the market. Meanwhile, demand for HRC has improved, and inventory levels have decreased. During the past week, domestic HRC prices in China have increased to RMB 3,620-3,800/mt ($517-543/mt) ex-warehouse, with the average price level RMB 130/mt ($18.6/mt) higher as compared to November 12, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
HRC futures prices at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) are standing at RMB 3,501/mt ($500/mt) on November 19, up 3.6 percent from November 12, while up 0.92 percent from November 18.